Meat colour, fatty acid profile and carcass characteristics of Hereford bulls finished on grazed pasture or grass silage-based diets with similar concentrate allowance

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of grazed grass (PAS bulls) and grass silage-based (UB bulls) diets on muscle colour, intramuscular fatty acid composition and carcass characteristics of Hereford bulls with similar concentrate allowances, ages, growth rates and carcass weights. The carcass fat score of the UB bulls was 14% higher than that of the PAS bulls ( P < 0.05). Muscle lightness was 5%, redness 5% and yellowness 8% higher in the UB bulls than in the PAS bulls ( P < 0.05). The Longissimus muscle (LM) of the UB bulls contained a higher proportion of 14:1 and 16:0 fatty acids compared to that of the PAS bulls ( P < 0.05). In contrast, the LM of the PAS bulls contained a higher proportion of 18:3 n-3 fatty acid and 18:2 cis-9 trans-11 CLA compared to that of the UB bulls ( P < 0.01). There were no differences in saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid or polyunsaturated fatty acid proportions of the LM muscle between treatments.